Magnum Force

Clint's Back!...Errrr....Dirty Harry's back I mean. Two years after the successful DIRTY HARRY comes its first sequel. Here, someone is out there killing all the city's dirtiest criminals. Soon enough Inspector Harry Callahan is on the case with his new partner Early Smith (Felton Perry).

Really gets a strong 7 out of 10 from me and has some great memorable scenes like the original, but it does bring some problems. Like the film does seem to go on for a little long after the biggest surprise is revealed. So the film may work better as a deeper look into Harry Callahan and his further thoughts on justice or injustice than it being looked at as a mystery which it pushes itself as. For there are way too few possible suspects especially when you watch the killer and his face.

Like the original a spectacular score from Lalo Shifrin and really some pretty good actors in supporting roles such as Hal Halbrook as Harry' boss Lt. Briggs and four new cops to the force in David Soul as Davis, Tim Matheson as Sweet, Kip Niven as Astrachan and the late Robert Urich as Grimes. Written by Michael Cimino and John Milius (who did uncredited work on the screenplay from DIRTY HARRY). In the end though, if you enjoyed the first one you will likely enjoy this one too. Followed by THE ENFORCER.

Magnum Force (1973)

Plot In A Paragraph: Dirty Harry is on the trail of vigilante cops who are not above going beyond the law to kill the city's undesirables.

How do you follow up one of the best movies of the 70's?? By making a solid sequel like this is the answer!! Magnum Force is not only a worthy sequel, it's a really good movie in general. Hal Holbrook is an actor I've always liked seeing and David Soul is fine too, but this is Clint's movie and he dominates every scene from start to finish.

Magnum Force was Clint's biggest hit at this point as it grossed $39 million at the domestic box office to become the 6th highest grossing movie of 1973.

Sometimes you just want to spend your evening hanging out with someone cool. So maybe you hang out with the Fonz in 'Happy Days', or just crank some Tom Petty - or perhaps like me tonight, you opt for Clint Eastwood as 'Dirty Harry' Callahan.

I actually enjoyed 'Magnum Force' more than the original 'Dirty Harry'. With this the longest of all the Dirty Harry films, it truly has a bit of everything.

Classic instantly-quotable bad-ass one-liners? Check.

Attractive 1970s women and romance? Check.

Plane hijacking? Check.

Bombs and explosions? Check.

Lots of shooting? Check.

Controversial murder scenes? Check.

Crazy car and motorcycle chases? Check.

Stunning San Fransisco scenery? Check.

Corrupt cops? Check.

Plot twists? Check.

This film felt right at home in 2019, despite being made all the way back in 1973. Definitely ahead of its time. You can't help but smile when Clint Eastwood delivers killer lines throughout this film. It seems rare to encounter films so satisfying as this nowadays.

"Nothing wrong with shooting as long as the right people get shot! "

I won't be pulling over for any shady-looking motorcycle cops anytime soon.

After a known criminal, with clout over the city, manages to escape the punishment of the law, he and his partners are gunned down by a vigilante dressed as a cop and with a .44 Magnum. Drawn to the case Infamous San Francisco Detective "Dirty" Harry Callahan starts to investigate as the vigilante continues to take out criminals citywide. Soon there are suspicions that the criminals are getting their information from inside the police force.

If there is one actor that can be plainly badass, macho, and tough in the most stereotypical way without making a fool of himself, it's Clint Eastwood. Never has an actor been so plain and stoic, yet so entertaining and funny at the same time. That's because Eastwood knows his limitations and, as a result, never becomes totally ridiculous. Whether he's dropping one liners, shooting his cannon of a revolver, or mysteriously seducing women with no effort whatsoever Clint Eastwood just plays it cool. Steve McQueen also managed the same with his classic "Bullitt" and Dirty Harry uses essentially the same formula, but it does it well with its own unique spin and style. Also Clint Eastwood has lived well past McQueen's early death so his films are more prevalent in the current movie mindset.

The film isn't quite perfect and there is one sequence in particular - at the airport where Harry takes out two hijackers single handedly - that seems to be just there to show that Harry Callahan is a badass who makes his own rules and gets things done. Yet this scene does nothing to advance the plot. With the film clocking in at over two hours this could have easily been dropped. Along with a few trimmings here and there for a slightly brisker film.

That said, the movie remains entertaining and a good part of Eastwood's action era. --- 8/10

Rated R for violence

Dirty Harry is back! And this time, he's up against some vigilante cops who are blowing away all the mobsters in old San Francisco while being harassed by his superior officer Hal Halbrook. Not only that, but there's folks trying to rob stores, hijack planes, one of his buddies is going a bit mad, that guy's wife is hitting on Harry and his Chinese neighbour is looking for a bit of filthy squeezy. Where does a guy find the time? Harry does somehow (although the neighbour would have gone right to the top of the 'to-do- list for me). Even when the guy's trying to grab a burger he ends up pretending to be a jetliner pilot so he can plug a few holes in a hijacker.

There's not too much of a plot for this one (the film doesn't need one) – You can solve the mystery of who's behind the killings in about five seconds, but what you do get is loads and loads of bad guys getting what they deserve one way or another, and Harry almost, almost sympathises with the killers. But then doesn't because he's Harry Callaghan and states clearly that he does thing his own way. Because he's Harry Callaghan. And he does things his way. Because he's Harry Callaghan.

Also starring the guy who ate baby food in Robocop and David Soul. Loads of gunfights in this one. Maybe a little overlong, but who cares